Category Archives: Restitution

Just a few days ago, the High Court handed down a decision in Williams v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] HCA 23 in which the Commonwealth government’s school chaplaincy program was found to be invalid because the funding of it was beyond the power conferred by s 61 of the Constitution. However, the chaplaincy program was […]

I am extremely proud to announce that my book has been published today. Here is the little summary from the publisher’s website: This book defends the view that an award of an account of profits (or ‘disgorgement damages’) for breach of contract will sometimes be justifiable, and fits within the orthodox principles and cases in […]

The High Court has just handed down a case dealing with the question of the availability of an action for money had and received when certain contracts have been found to be unenforceable as a result of illegality: see Equuscorp Pty Ltd v Haxton [2012] HCA 7. Facts: The facts of the case are rather […]

For those small number of readers who are “restitutionally inclined”, you may be interested to hear of a recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court concerning the change of position defence in TRA Global Pty Ltd v Kebakoska [2011] VSC 480. The case arose when Ms Kebakoska was made redundant by her employer, TRA Global. […]

The latest news from Banking Mistake Land involves faulty ATMs in Sydney. The ABC reports: Consumer groups are calling on the Commonwealth Bank to explain what went wrong with its ATMs on Tuesday, with a glitch resulting in some customers withdrawing excessive amounts from the machines. Police charged two men in Sydney on Wednesday with […]

One of my key areas of interest and research involves considering if and when we should strip profit which has been derived from breach of contract. The landmark cases often involve former spies who have published a book without the consent of their former government employers. Such cases are made easier by the fact that […]

In an attempt to drain the pus from the festering debate between science and religion — mainly over things like the teaching of ‘intelligent design’ in US schools — paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould came up with the notion of ‘Non Overlapping Magisteria’. He argued that: The magisterium of science covers the empirical realm: what the Universe is […]

Via the Restitution Discussion Group, a fascinating case…this time a celebrity diner who became violently ill after eating a meal at a celebrity restaurant. From The Independent: Boxing TV host Jim Rosenthal lost a legal bout with chef Heston Blumenthal today as a judge ruled he should not be refunded for a £1,300 meal which […]

When I was learning how to drive, my father asked me what kind of car my instructor had. “A white one?” I hazarded. He was just horrified that I had no idea of the make or how many cylinders it had. I’m not a petrol head — cars are simply a tool for getting around […]

A friend alerted to me to an interesting case reported in the New York Times involving monetary restitution to a victim of child pornography who goes by the pseudonym “Amy”. When she was 8 or 9 years old, Amy’s uncle had filmed her in a series of pornographic photographs known as the “Misty” series. Amy […]